The twenty nineth professor Chin Fung Kee memorial lecture

Abstract

Landslides are a ubiquitous natural hazard in mountainous terrain and often lead to human casualties in urban settlements and along transportation corridors. Given the adverse topographical and climatic setting, both Malaysia and Hong Kong are vulnerable to rain-induced landslides. For example, the 1996 Keningau debris flow in Sabah recorded the highest level of fatality (>300 deaths) for a single landslide in Malaysia. Upon the loss of more than 150 lives in three disastrous landslides in the 1970s, the Hong Kong Government established the Geotechnical Engineering Office (GEO). In striving to achieve its missions of saving lives and facilitating sustainable development, the GEO has made notable advances over the years in the understanding of initiation and propagation of landslides, masterminded the implementation of a systems approach to manage landslide risk holistically, championed the development of novel methodologies for landslide risk assessment, and pioneered new design approaches for landslide prevention and mitigation works. This paper highlights the successful application of innovation and technology in advancing slope engineering practice and managing landslide risk. The prospects of the geotechnical profession entering into a new era of making further transformational advances through a wider use of innovation and emerging technology are discussed.